The invention relates to an open roof construction having an adjustable panel for opening and closing a roof opening in a vehicle.
Open roof constructions of this kind (commonly called spoiler roofs) are known in various embodiments thereof. In most embodiments, the pivoting and sliding movements take place separately, in succession, that is, the panel is first pivoted to a ventilating position, so that it can subsequently be slid rearwards to a maximally open position. The movements are thereby initiated by means of a crank or a motor driving unit, and transmitted to the panel by an operating mechanism.
In the case of a spoiler roof, the object is usually to enable a relatively large pivoting angle in the ventilating position of the panel, so as to obtain a sufficiently large ventilating opening, while in the rearwardly moved positions of the panel it is on the contrary advantageous to obtain the smallest possible pivoting angle so as to minimize the air resistance and the forces that are exerted on the panel. When the panel movement takes place as described above, these requirements are difficult to combine. Although spoiler roofs are known wherein rearward movement of the panel is accompanied by a movement in downward direction, this requires a complicated operating mechanism.
GB-A-2 164 006 discloses a manually operated spoiler roof, wherein the pivoting mechanism is arranged for obtaining two stable pivoted positions of the panel, a high ventilating position and a low position, in which the panel can be slid rearwards.
FR-A-2 648 403 discloses a spoiler roof operated by driving means, wherein a driving slide can be moved forwards and rearwards from a closed position so as to pivot the panel to a tilted position and move the panel rearwards in a low position above the fixed roof, respectively.
The object of the present invention is to further improve an open roof construction of the kind referred to in the introduction. In this manner, an open roof construction for a vehicle having an opening in its fixed roof, can include a stationary part to be fixed to the roof, which stationary part includes a guide rail present on at least one side of the roof opening. At least one adjustable panel is supported by said stationary part, which is adjustable between a closed position, in which it closes the roof opening, and an open position, in which it has been moved to a position above the fixed roof. An operating mechanism arranged between the panel and the guide rails displaces the panel and includes a supporting part, which supports said panel, and a first slide which is capable of sliding movement along said guide rail, and a second slide, which is capable of slidably moving the panel with respect to said supporting part by a connecting part.
In this way, an adjustment range in a rearward direction of the first slide from the closed position will suffice, after which the second slide takes care of the movement in the rearward direction of the panel. In this case it is also possible to have the supporting part of the panel supported as far to the rear as possible by the first slide, so as to enhance the stability without this standing in the way of achieving a high opening percentage of the roof opening. On the contrary, the construction or assembly according to the invention makes it possible to release a large part of the roof opening, whereby the opening percentage can be increased even further by using a telescopic intermediate part between the supporting part and the panel.
In the case that the first slide can be moved both forwards and rearwards from a position corresponding to-the closed position of the panel, in order to pivot the panel upwards, a further advantage of supporting the panel at a rear location is that it is possible to select a relatively long adjustment range in a forward direction of the first slide, as a result of which the motor load or driving force needed to displace the panel will remain low, which is advantageous, of course. Furthermore, the forward movement of the slide for the purpose of pivoting the panel upwards to a ventilating position ensures that the wedging action of the slide with respect to a first pivot point of the panel causes the panel to pivot upwards already, so that a large pivoting movement of the panel can be achieved while using a relatively flat operating mechanism.
In this embodiment, it is advantageous if a driving device, such as pull-push cable guided in the guide rails, and the first and the second slide are fitted with cooperating couplers for selectively coupling and uncoupling the driving device to and from said first and said second slide, wherein preferably the guide rails are fitted with control elements for said couplers.
A very advantageous embodiment is one wherein a guide in the form of a roller guide, preferably comprising a telescopic intermediate part, is mounted between the panel and the supporting part. Said roller guide, which is for example comparable with a guide of a drawer, has a number of advantages. In the first place, friction will be reduced by the rolling movement of the panel, while furthermore the extent to which said friction varies will be reduced. As a result, the required driving force or motor power is reduced, the reliability of a possible anti-jamming provision will be enhanced and the amount of wear will be reduced.